Russia 2012: St. Petersburg City Treasures

Enjoying an unusually sunny day on the Neva River outside the fort's walls.

Inside Peter and Paul Cathedral - notice there are no seats. Tombs of Tsars on lefts.

Nicholas II and family rest here inside Peter and Paul Cathedral. The last Tsar and family were murdered by Bolsheviks in July, 1918.

Statue of Peter the Great.

One of the entries to the fort - note the double eagle emblem above the arch.

Tombs of Russian Tsars inside Peter and Paul Cathedral.

View of Peter and Paul fortress from across the Neva River.

Tomb and Peter the Great.

Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Cruiser Aurora.

Theatre for National Dance show - formerly a palace.

The girls enjoying refreshment before the show.

Ready for the show!

Peter and Paul fortress was constructed at the height of the Great Norther War and was a bold move by Peter the Great considering it was built on land that, at that time, was under Swedish control. Charles XII of Sweden allegedly commented that Peter could go ahead and build it so the Swedish could enjoy using it. Well, Peter and his armies took care of that at the battle of Poltava. While the fort never fulfilled its true military purposes, it does contain Peter and Paul Cathedral - the final resting place of Russian Tsars following Peter the Great, including a special room for Tsar Nicholas II and his family - the last Russian Tsars. Its prisons also held notable Russians including Peter's son Tsarevich Alexis, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Leon Trotsky.

St. Petersburg was at the heart of the October Russian Revolution of 1917, which ended with the storming of the Winter Palace. The takeover of the palace was started by the firing of a blank round from one of the guns of battle cruiser Aurora. We visited Aurora. Our tour guide has been giving tours of that ship for over 25 years, but her passion is undiminished. In addition to its role in the Revolution, it is one of only two Russian ships to escape Russia's naval disaster at the battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

Traditional Russian folk dancing is legendary and seeing live is amazing. Now I can see why Russians are known for ballet - it probably started in the countryside with these dances. They are incredibly demanding for both male and female dancers.